Abzu
Encyclopedia
The abzu also called engur, (Cuneiform
:, LAGAB×HAL; Sumerian
: engur; Akkadian
: engurru) literally, ab='ocean' zu='to know' or 'deep' was the name for fresh water from underground aquifer
s that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the abzu.
, Enki's temple was known as E2-abzu (house of the cosmic waters) and was located at the edge of a swamp, an abzu. Certain tanks of holy water
in Babylon
ian and Assyria
n temple courtyards were also called abzu (apsû). Typical in religious washing, these tanks were similar to the washing pools of Islam
ic mosque
s, or the baptism
al font in Christian
churches.
ian god
Enki
(Ea in the Akkadian language
) was believed to have lived in the abzu since before human beings were created. His wife Damgalnuna
, his mother Nammu
, his advisor Isimud
and a variety of subservient creatures, such as the gatekeeper Lahmu
, also lived in the abzu.
only in the Babylonian creation epic
, the Enûma Elish
, taken from the library of Assurbanipal (c 630 BCE) but which is about 500 years older. In this story, he was a primal
being made of fresh water and a lover to another primal deity, Tiamat
, who was a creature of salt water. The Enuma Elish begins:
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
:, LAGAB×HAL; Sumerian
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
: engur; Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
: engurru) literally, ab='ocean' zu='to know' or 'deep' was the name for fresh water from underground aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
s that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the abzu.
In Sumerian culture
In the city EriduEridu
Eridu is an ancient Sumerian city in what is now Tell Abu Shahrain, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Eridu was considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia, and is one of the oldest cities in the world...
, Enki's temple was known as E2-abzu (house of the cosmic waters) and was located at the edge of a swamp, an abzu. Certain tanks of holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
in Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
ian and Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n temple courtyards were also called abzu (apsû). Typical in religious washing, these tanks were similar to the washing pools of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s, or the baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
al font in Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
churches.
In Sumerian cosmology
The SumerSumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
Enki
Enki
Enki is a god in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology. He was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians...
(Ea in the Akkadian language
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
) was believed to have lived in the abzu since before human beings were created. His wife Damgalnuna
Damgalnuna
Damgalnuna was a mother goddess in Mesopotamian mythology. She first appears as a consort of Enlil in Sumerian mythology, and later becomes the Akkadian Damkina, consort of Enki/Ea and mother of the god Marduk....
, his mother Nammu
Nammu
In Sumerian mythology, Nammu was a primeval goddess, corresponding to Tiamat in Babylonian mythology....
, his advisor Isimud
Isimud
Isimud is a minor god, the messenger of the god Enki in Sumerian mythology.He is readily identifiable by the fact that he possesses two faces looking in opposite directions....
and a variety of subservient creatures, such as the gatekeeper Lahmu
Lahmu
' is a deity from Akkadian mythology.- Mythology :Lahmu, "Hairy" is the name of a protective and beneficent deity is a first-born son of Apsu and Tiamat. He and his sister are the parents of Anshar and Kishar, the sky father and earth mother, who birthed the gods of the Mesopotamian Pantheon...
, also lived in the abzu.
As a deity
Abzu (apsû) is depicted as a deityDeity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
only in the Babylonian creation epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
, the Enûma Elish
Enûma Elish
The is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Austen Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876.The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding...
, taken from the library of Assurbanipal (c 630 BCE) but which is about 500 years older. In this story, he was a primal
Primal
Primal can refer to:* An old term for a hypersurface in mathematics.* Primal , a season 1 episode of Eureka* Primal , an action video game for the PlayStation 2...
being made of fresh water and a lover to another primal deity, Tiamat
Tiamat
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...
, who was a creature of salt water. The Enuma Elish begins:
When above the heavens did not yet exist nor the earth below, Apsu the freshwater ocean was there, the first, the begetter, and Tiamat, the saltwater sea, she who bore them all; they were still mixing their waters, and no pasture land had yet been formed, nor even a reed marsh...